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February 12
Events * 881 – Pope John VIII crowns Charles the Fat, the King of Italy: Holy Roman Emperor *1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings. *1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India. *1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia. *1554 – A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason. *1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju. *1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication. *1733 – Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day). *1771 – Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden. *1814 – Battle of Château-Thierry (1814) *1814 – Battle of La Victoria (1814) *1816 – The Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is destroyed by fire. *1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops on the Battle of Chacabuco. *1818 – Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile. *1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west. *1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands. *1851 – Edward Hargraves announces that he has found gold in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, starting the Australian gold rushes. *1855 – Michigan State University is established. *1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, France, killing one and wounding 20. *1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded. * 1909 – New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the , an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour. *1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates. *1914 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place. *1921 – Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia. *1924 – George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music," in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano. *1934 – The Austrian Civil War begins. * 1934 – In Spain the national council of Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista decides to merge the movement with the Falange Española. *1935 – , one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks. *1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats. * 1946 – African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the Civil Rights Movement and partially inspires Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil. *1947 – The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union. * 1947 – Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world. *1954 – Lyons's LEO produces a payroll report. It is the first time in history a computer is used in business. *1961 – Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus. *1963 – Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. *1968 – Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre. *1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union. *1983 – One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law. *1985 – First winter ascent of Cho Oyu by Maciej Berbeka and Maciej Pawlikowski. *1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia. *1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect. *1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him. *1994 – Four men break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream. *1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial. *2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid. *2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before its conclusion. * 2002 – An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119. *2004 – The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom. *2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground. *2016 – Pope Francis met Patriarch Kirill at José Martí International Airport in Cuba, the first meeting between the pontiff of the Catholic Church and the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, together they signed the Havana Declaration. Births * AD 41 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (d. 55) * 528 – Daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, nominal empress regnant of Northern Wei * 661 – Princess Ōku of Japan (d. 702) *1074 – Conrad II of Italy (d. 1101) *1218 – Kujō Yoritsune, Japanese shogun (d. 1256) *1322 – John Henry, Margrave of Moravia, (d. 1375) *1567 – Thomas Campion, English composer, poet, and physician (d. 1620) *1584 – Caspar Barlaeus, Dutch historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1648) *1606 – John Winthrop the Younger, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676) *1637 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist and zoologist (d. 1680) *1663 – Cotton Mather, English-American minister and author (d. 1728) *1665 – Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (d. 1721) *1704 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author (d. 1772) *1728 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799) *1753 – François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798) *1761 – Jan Ladislav Dussek, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1812) *1768 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1835) *1775 – Louisa Adams, English-American wife of John Quincy Adams, 6th First Lady of the United States (d. 1852) *1777 – Bernard Courtois, French chemist and academic (d. 1838) * 1777 – Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German author and poet (d. 1843) *1785 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (d. 1838) *1787 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1853) *1788 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (d. 1869) *1791 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (d. 1883) *1794 – Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player and composer (d. 1867) *1804 – Heinrich Lenz, German-Italian physicist and academic (d. 1865) *1809 – Charles Darwin, English geologist and theorist (d. 1882) * 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865) *1824 – Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher, founded Arya Samaj (d. 1883) *1828 – George Meredith, English author and poet (d. 1909) *1857 – Eugène Atget, French photographer (d. 1927) * 1857 – Bobby Peel, English cricketer and coach (d. 1943) *1861 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (d. 1937) *1865 – Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Polish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1940) *1866 – Lev Shestov, Russian author and philosopher (d. 1938) *1869 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1884) *1870 – Marie Lloyd, English actress and singer (d. 1922) *1876 – 13th Dalai Lama (d. 1933) *1877 – Louis Renault, French engineer and businessman, co-founded Renault (d. 1944) *1880 – George Preca, Maltese priest and saint (d. 1962) *1880 – John L. Lewis, American miner and union leader (d. 1969) *1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina and actress (d. 1931) *1882 – Walter Nash, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1968) *1884 – Max Beckmann, German painter and sculptor (d. 1950) * 1884 – Johan Laidoner, Estonian-Russian general (d. 1953) * 1884 – Alice Roosevelt Longworth, American author (d. 1980) * 1884 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (d. 1957) *1885 – Julius Streicher, German publisher, founded Der Stürmer (d. 1946) *1889 – Bhante Dharmawara, Cambodian monk, lawyer, and judge (d. 1999) *1893 – Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981) *1895 – Kristian Djurhuus, Faroese lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1984) *1897 – Charles Groves Wright Anderson, South African-Australian colonel and politician (d. 1988) * 1897 – Lincoln LaPaz, American astronomer and academic (d. 1985) * 1897 – Vola Vale, American actress (d. 1970) *1898 – Wallace Ford, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966) *1898 – Roy Harris, American composer (d. 1979) *1900 – Roger J. Traynor, American lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (d. 1983) *1902 – William Collier, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1987) *1903 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1973) *1904 – Ted Mack, American radio and television host (d. 1976) *1907 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (d. 1962) *1908 – Jacques Herbrand, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1931) * 1908 – August Neo, Estonian wrestler (d. 1982) *1909 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (d. 2005) * 1909 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (d. 1945) *1911 – Charles Mathiesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1994) *1912 – R. F. Delderfield, English author and playwright (d. 1972) *1914 – Tex Beneke, American singer, saxophonist, and bandleader (d. 2000) *1915 – Andrew Goodpaster, American general (d. 2005) * 1915 – Lorne Greene, Canadian-American actor (d. 1987) *1916 – Joseph Alioto, American lawyer and politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1998) *1917 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player and soldier (d. 2009) *1918 – Norman Farberow, American psychologist and academic (d. 2015) * 1918 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994) *1919 – Forrest Tucker, American actor (d. 1986) *1921 – Kathleen Antonelli, Irish-American computer programmer (d. 2006) *1922 – Hussein Onn, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990) *1923 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director, producer, and politician *1925 – Joan Mitchell, American-French painter (d. 1992) *1926 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (d. 2014) * 1926 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2016) * 1926 – Charles Van Doren, American academic *1928 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (d. 2013) *1930 – John Doyle, Irish hurler and politician (d. 2010) * 1930 – Arlen Specter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012) *1931 – Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch-American author and translator (d. 2008) *1932 – Axel Jensen, Norwegian author and poet (d. 2003) * 1932 – Julian Simon, American economist, author, and academic (d. 1998) *1933 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director and producer * 1933 – Brian Carlson, Australian rugby player (d. 1987) *1934 – Annette Crosbie, Scottish actress * 1934 – Anne Osborn Krueger, American economist and academic * 1934 – Bill Russell, American basketball player and coach *1935 – Gene McDaniels, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011) *1936 – Joe Don Baker, American actor *1938 – Judy Blume, American author and educator *1939 – Akbar Adibi, Iranian engineer and academic (d. 2000) * 1939 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2013) *1940 – Richard Lynch, American actor (d. 2012) *1941 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 2013) * 1941 – Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountaineer and explorer (d. 1984) *1942 – Ehud Barak, Israeli general and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Israel * 1942 – Pat Dobson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006) *1944 – Moe Bandy, American singer and guitarist *1945 – Maud Adams, Swedish model and actress * 1945 – Cliff DeYoung, American actor * 1945 – David D. Friedman, American economist, physicist, and scholar *1946 – Jean Eyeghé Ndong, Gabonese politician, Prime Minister of Gabon * 1946 – Ajda Pekkan, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress *1948 – Ray Kurzweil, American computer scientist and engineer * 1948 – Nicholas Soames, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces *1949 – Joaquín Sabina, Spanish singer-songwriter * 1949 – Gundappa Viswanath, Indian cricketer and referee *1950 – Angelo Branduardi, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist * 1950 – Steve Hackett, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer * 1950 – Michael Ironside, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter *1952 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2010) * 1952 – Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player *1953 – Joanna Kerns, American actress and director *1954 – Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist and academic * 1954 – Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author * 1954 – Phil Zimmermann, American cryptographer and programmer, created Pretty Good Privacy *1955 – Bill Laswell, American bass player and producer * 1955 – Chet Lemon, American baseball player and coach *1956 – Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host * 1956 – Ad Melkert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment *1958 – Outback Jack, Australian-American wrestler * 1958 – Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006) *1961 – Jim Harris, Canadian environmentalist and politician * 1961 – Michel Martelly, Haitian singer and politician, 56th President of Haiti *1965 – Rubén Amaro, Jr., American baseball player and manager * 1965 – Christine Elise, American actress and producer * 1965 – John Michael Higgins, American actor * 1965 – David Westlake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist *1966 – Paul Crook, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer *1968 – Josh Brolin, American actor * 1968 – Gregory Charles, Canadian singer, dancer, pianist, and actor * 1968 – Chynna Phillips, American singer and actress *1969 – Darren Aronofsky, American director, producer, and screenwriter * 1969 – Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (d. 2014) * 1969 – Anneli Drecker, Norwegian singer and actress * 1969 – Hong Myung-bo, South Korean footballer and manager *1970 – Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter and bass player * 1970 – Bryan Roy, Dutch footballer and manager * 1970 – Judd Winick, American author and illustrator *1972 – Owen Nolan, Canadian ice hockey player * 1972 – Sophie Zelmani, Swedish singer-songwriter *1973 – Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater * 1973 – Tara Strong, Canadian voice actress and singer *1974 – Naseem Hamed, English boxer * 1974 – Toranosuke Takagi, Japanese race car driver *1975 – Cliff Bleszinski, American video game designer, founded Boss Key Productions * 1975 – Scot Pollard, American basketball player and actor *1976 – Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby player *1977 – Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player and manager *1978 – Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby player and coach *1979 – Antonio Chatman, American football player * 1979 – Jesse Spencer, Australian actor and violinist *1980 – Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player * 1980 – Sarah Lancaster, American actress * 1980 – Christina Ricci, American actress and producer *1981 – Lisa Hannigan, Irish singer-songwriter * 1981 – Wade McKinnon, Australian rugby player *1982 – Jonas Hiller, Swiss ice hockey player * 1982 – Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper * 1982 – Anthony Tuitavake, New Zealand rugby player *1983 – Carlton Brewster, American football player and coach * 1983 – Nguyễn Tiến Minh, Vietnamese badminton player *1984 – Alexandra Dahlström, Swedish actress and director * 1984 – Brad Keselowski, American race car driver * 1984 – Aylar Lie, Iranian-Norwegian porn actress and singer * 1984 – Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonian footballer * 1984 – Peter Vanderkaay, American swimmer *1985 – Saskia Burmeister, Australian actress *1986 – Georgina Wilson, Filipino-English model and television host *1988 – DeMarco Murray, American football player * 1988 – Mike Posner, American singer-songwriter and producer *1990 – Robert Griffin III, American football player * 1990 – Moussa Koné, Ivorian footballer *1991 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer *1993 – Jennifer Stone, American actress *1994 – Subin, South Korean singer-songwriter and actress * 1994 – Alex Galchenyuk, American ice hockey player * 1994 – Miori Ichikawa, Japanese singer and actress *1995 – Rina Kawaei, Japanese singer and actress *1996 – Doménica González, Ecuadorian tennis player Deaths * 821 – Benedict of Aniane, French monk and saint (b. 747) * 890 – Henjō, Japanese priest and poet (b. 816) * 941 – Wulfhelm, Archbishop of Canterbury *1517 – Catherine of Navarre (b. 1468) *1538 – Albrecht Altdorfer, German painter, engraver, and architect (b. 1480) *1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley, English son of Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland (b. 1536) * 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, English daughter of Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (b. 1537) *1571 – Nicholas Throckmorton, English politician and diplomat (b. 1515) *1590 – François Hotman, French lawyer and author (b. 1524) *1600 – Edward Denny, Knight Banneret of Bishop's Stortford, English soldier, privateer and adventurer (b. 1547) *1624 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist, founded George Heriot's School (b. 1563) *1700 – Aleksei Shein, Russian general and politician (b. 1662) *1713 – Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor (b. 1664) *1728 – Agostino Steffani, Italian priest and composer (b. 1653) *1763 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (b. 1688) *1771 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (b. 1710) *1789 – Ethan Allen, American farmer, general, and politician (b. 1738) *1799 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist and physiologist (b. 1729) *1804 – Immanuel Kant, German anthropologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1724) *1834 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German philosopher and scholar (b. 1768) *1886 – Randolph Caldecott, English-American painter and illustrator (b. 1846) *1894 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1830) *1896 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer and academic (b. 1811) *1915 – Émile Waldteufel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837) *1916 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician, philosopher, and academic (b. 1831) *1929 – Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853) *1931 – Samad bey Mehmandarov, Azerbaijani-Russian general and politician, 3rd Azerbaijani Minister of Defense (b. 1855) *1935 – Auguste Escoffier, French chef and author (b. 1846) *1942 – Eugene Esmonde, Irish-English lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1909) * 1942 – Avraham Stern, Polish-Israeli militant leader (b. 1907) * 1942 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (b. 1891) *1947 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (b. 1866) *1949 – Hassan al-Banna, Egyptian educator, founded the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906) *1954 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1896) *1958 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1897) *1960 – Oskar Anderson, Bulgarian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1887) *1970 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (b. 1903) *1971 – James Cash Penney, American businessman and philanthropist, founded J. C. Penney (b. 1875) *1976 – Sal Mineo, American actor (b. 1939) *1977 – Herman Dooyeweerd, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1894) *1979 – Jean Renoir, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894) *1980 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and activist (b. 1913) *1982 – Victor Jory, Canadian-American actor (b. 1902) *1983 – Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (b. 1887) *1984 – Anna Anderson, Polish-American woman, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1896) * 1984 – Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and poet (b. 1914) *1985 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (b. 1924) * 1985 – Leslie Sarony, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1897) *1989 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and author (b. 1931) *1991 – Roger Patterson, American bass player (Atheist) (b. 1968) *1992 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907) *1994 – Donald Judd, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928) *1995 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (b. 1952) *1998 – Gardner Ackley, American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (b. 1915) *2000 – Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1929) * 2000 – Tom Landry, American football player and coach (b. 1924) * 2000 – Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (b. 1922) *2001 – Kristina Söderbaum, Swiss-German actress and producer (b. 1912) *2002 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer (b. 1957) *2005 – Brian Kelly, American actor and director (b. 1931) * 2005 – Sammi Smith, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943) * 2005 – Dorothy Stang, American-Brazilian nun and missionary (b. 1931) *2007 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905) *2008 – David Groh, American actor (b. 1939) *2009 – victims of Colgan Air Flight 3407: **Alison Des Forges, American historian and activist (b. 1942) **Beverly Eckert, American activist (b. 1951) **Mat Mathews, Dutch accordion player (b. 1924) **Coleman Mellett, American guitarist (b. 1974) **Gerry Niewood, American saxophonist (b. 1943) *2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (b. 1988) *2011 – Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor (b. 1926) * 2011 – Fedor den Hertog, Dutch cyclist (b. 1946) * 2011 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1919) * 2011 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (b. 1935) *2012 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1945) * 2012 – Denis Flannery, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1928) * 2012 – David Kelly, Irish actor (b. 1929) * 2012 – John Severin, American illustrator (b. 1921) *2013 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1941) * 2013 – Reginald Turnill, English journalist and author (b. 1915) * 2013 – Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine (b. 1931) *2014 – Sid Caesar, American actor and comedian (b. 1922) * 2014 – Maggie Estep, American poet and author (b. 1963) * 2014 – John Pickstone, English historian and author (b. 1944) *2015 – Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (b. 1916) * 2015 – Mosie Lister, American singer-songwriter and minister (b. 1921) * 2015 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (b. 1931) * 2015 – Gary Owens, American radio host and voice actor (b. 1934) * 2015 – Steve Strange, Welsh singer (b. 1959) *2016 – Dominique D'Onofrio, Italian-Belgian footballer and coach (b. 1953) * 2016 – Yannis Kalaitzis, Greek cartoonist (b. 1945) * 2016 – Johnny Lattner, American football player and coach (b. 1932) * 2016 – Yan Su, Chinese general and composer (b. 1930) Holidays and observances * Christian feast day: ** Martyrs of Abitinae ** Damian of Alexandria ** Julian the Hospitaller ** February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) * Darwin Day (International) * Georgia Day (Georgia (U.S. state)) * International Day of Women's Health * Lincoln's Birthday (United States) * National Freedom to Marry Day (United States) * Red Hand Day (United Nations) * Sexual and Reproductive Health Awareness Day (Canada) * Union Day (Myanmar) * Youth Day (Venezuela) External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada Category:Days of the year Category:February